P v. Franklin (SC of California) Senate Bill 260 Made a Mandatory 50-Life Sentence for a Juvenile Murder Constitutional.

When he was 16, Master Franklin killed another teenager by shooting him.  Franklin was tried and convicted as an adult.  The trial court, mandated by California law, sentenced Franklin to 50 to life.

After Franklin's conviction, the United States Supreme Court, in Miller v. Alabama, held that a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole (LWOP) for a crime committed by a minor violates the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  The California Supreme Court later held that a sentence which is the functional equivalent to life without parole (the person is likely to die before reaching the earliest parole eligibility date) is considered a LWOP sentence for purposes of the Eighth Amendment.  

Franklin appeals his sentence arguing that his 50-life sentence is the functional equivalent of a LWOP sentence and thus violates the Eighth Amendment.  

Our state's Supreme Court holds that Senate Bill 260 (SB 260), passed after the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Miller, renders Franklin's sentence constitutional.

Applied to Franklin's case, SB260 means Franklin is entitled to a parole hearing during his 25th year of incarceration.  The court holds that the question of whether the mandated 50-life sentence is the functional equivalent to LWOP is moot because, by operation of law, the effective sentence is no longer 50-life, rather 25-life.  

However, because, given the mandatory nature of his sentence when opposed, Franklin had no incentive to place mitigating evidence on the record at the time of his sentencing, the case is remanded to give Franklin that opportunity.